CVE-2021-23890
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedInformation leak vulnerability in the Agent Handler of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) prior to 5.10 Update 10 allows an unauthenticated user to download McAfee product packages (specifically McAfee Agent) available in ePO repository and install them on their own machines to have it managed and then in turn get policy details from the ePO server. This can only happen when the ePO Agent Handler is installed in a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to service machines not connected to the network through a VPN.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceAn unauthenticated attacker can download McAfee Agent packages from an ePO Agent Handler deployed in a DMZ, install the agent on their own system, and register it with the ePO server to receive policy details. This only affects DMZ deployments serving machines without VPN connectivity.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 5.9.1= 5.10.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify ePO versionCheck the installed McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator version through the ePO console (typically in the Dashboard or About section) or via installed programs listAffected if Version is lower than 5.9.1 or exactly 5.10.0
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Confirm Agent Handler DMZ deploymentReview network architecture documentation or verify if an Agent Handler system is deployed in a DMZ (demilitarized zone) network segment outside the internal firewallAffected if An Agent Handler is deployed in a DMZ network segment
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Verify target machines lack VPN connectivityDetermine whether the DMZ-hosted Agent Handler is serving endpoints that do not use VPN to connect to the internal network (e.g., remote employees, branch offices without VPN)Affected if The Agent Handler serves machines without VPN connectivity to the internal ePO server
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Check agent package download access controlsInspect the Agent Handler configuration to determine if unauthenticated (anonymous) download of agent installation packages is permittedAffected if Agent packages can be downloaded without authentication
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Check agent registration restrictionsInspect ePO server settings to verify whether new agent registrations from unknown systems are allowed without authentication or approvalAffected if Unauthenticated agent registration to the ePO server is permitted
The environment is affected if ePO version is below 5.9.1 or exactly 5.10.0, AND an Agent Handler is deployed in a DMZ serving machines without VPN connectivity, AND unauthenticated agent package download and registration are enabled.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data5.9.1
Update McAfee ePO to version 5.10 Update 10 or later. Additionally, restrict access to the DMZ-hosted Agent Handler to only legitimate managed endpoints and implement network segmentation to prevent unauthorized registration.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-23890 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-23890 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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